2024 Schedule Analysis: Clearwater Central Catholic will test themselves once more this fall

Clearwater Central Catholic is coming off back-to-back finishes as the Class 1M state runner-up and is now assigned to Class 1A for the next two years; the Marauders will look to return to the state championship game again in 2024. How does their schedule stack up to help their chances? Let’s dive in with our analysis of the 2024 schedule.

CLEARWATER CENTRAL CATHOLIC MARAUDERS

2023 Record: 13-1

2024 District: District 1A-8

2024 SCHEDULE

All Kickoff Times are 7:30 p.m. ET unless noted

* – District
** – Preseason (FHSAA)

Week 0 – Fri. 8/16 – Robinson (Tampa)**
Week 1 – Fri. 8/23 – Berkeley Prep (Tampa)
Week 2 – Fri. 8/30 – Sebring
Week 3 – Fri. 9/6 – at Tampa Catholic, 7
Week 4 – Fri. 9/13 – Clearwater
Week 5 – Fri 9/20 – at Trinity Catholic (Ocala), 7
Week 6 – Fri. 9/27 – at Indian Rocks Christian (Largo)*, 7
Week 7 – Fri. 10/4 – at Northside Christian (St. Petersburg), 7
Week 8 – Fri. 10/11 – BYE WEEK
Week 9 – Fri. 10/18 – Venice
Week 10 – Fri. 10/25 – St. Frances Academy (MD)
Week 11 – Fri. 10/1 – at Boca Ciega (Gulfport)

ROAD TRIPPING

Most of the road-tripping by Clearwater Central Catholic will be done inside the primary Tampa Bay counties of Pinellas and Hillsborough. There is one exception – the trip up to Ocala to pay Trinity Catholic a visit, which will be their longest road trip of the season. That is to counter that the shortest trip for the Marauders will be their road trip to Indian Rocks Christian in their lone district game at the midway point of the season.

To Tampa Catholic: 20/40
To Trinity Catholic: 116/232
To Indian Rocks Christian: 10/20
To Northside Christian: 11/22
To Boca Ciega: 14/28

Total 2024 Mileage: 171/342

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

With two straight state runner-up finishes in the former Class 1M, Clearwater Central Catholic really had to work hard to put a schedule together for the 2024 season. This schedule will feature games that give the Marauders balance but will also challenge them. The schedule includes a defending state champion in Berkeley Prep, two state runners-up from Trinity Catholic and Venice last year, and the nationally known St. Frances Academy. Those four programs alone make this schedule already intense enough. Add in the rest of the teams on the schedule outside of Boca Ciega, and you can see where this is going for Clearwater Central Catholic:

Clearwater Central Catholic SOS for 2024: .603

2-Year Combined Opp. Win-Loss: 147-86

THREE KEY GAMES

• 8/23 – Berkeley Prep: The Marauders will test themselves out of the gate against the Class 2M state champions from the 2023 season. This will give head coach Chris Harvey a lot of answers quickly on how to guide the Marauders for the first half of the season.

• 9/27 – at Indian Rocks Christian: This is Clearwater Central Catholic’s lone district game; win, and you are in the playoffs. Indian Rocks Christian is not anywhere near the level of the Marauders, but this game is key for locking in a playoff berth.

• 10/18 – Venice: A coin flip between this game or the St. Frances Academy game, and, honestly, given the Indians’ track record the last few years while St. Frances Academy struggled some last year, we believe this game will prove more valuable in terms of the games in being prepared for a deep playoff run.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Head Coach Chris Harvey and his staff have once again put together a commendable schedule, with nine of the 10 opponents reaching the playoffs or having some post-season game. The variety of teams on the schedule is also a sort of who’s-who of high school football teams from around the state and the nation. With that kind of thought process to build out a schedule having been accomplished once again, anywhere from 7 to 10 wins is very much possible for the Marauders this season with the balance the schedule brings.